Nikon Z6III Release Finally Imminent?
Seems like there is quite a bit of buzz ongoing recently regarding the Z6III’s release, which is predicted to happen very soon according to Nikon Rumors.
Earlier this year I did mention that I expected the Z6III to arrive before spring, similar to reports and speculations from all over the net. But when Nikon Japan suddenly launched a new spring cashback campaign (which was surprising considering one campaign had just been concluded in January) that would end at the start of May, it became pretty obvious that the Z6III would not be launched in the period that all of us were expecting, and the earliest we could expect it would be in early summer after the cashback promotion has been concluded.
So winter and spring both came and went without much buzz about the Z6III, and now finally there seems to be movements going on behind the scenes to prepare for the launch.
While these are just my own observations, there are some circumstantial evidences that seem too coincidental to just completely regard them as mere coincidences.
Namely speaking:
The spring cashback campaign ended after the Golden Week holidays here (7 May) - and past product announcements had happened around a month after a cashback campaign has ended.
Nikon’s official online store used to sell new Z6/Z7 as “outlet items” (i.e. discounted discontinued products), and they are now no longer available.
Similarly the online store used to sell Z6II/Z7II refurbished sets, and they are also no longer available now.
The showroom will be temporary closed on 10 June and 17 June, with all its services and facilities not available on these two days. While no exact reason was given, it may be a training session for the new products or a closed door touch and try event?
The web store is down for server maintenance from 3 June 10:00hrs to 4 June 13:00hrs. Looks suspicious to have down time during work hours?
Perhaps I might be reading too much into things, but these circumstantial evidences just seem to suggest something is happening.
I personally am looking forward to the new body - I am sure the Expeed 7 processor would bring about a lot of quality of life improvements from the Z6II, which can be seen in the Zf too. Truth be told, I would be totally satisfied even if the Z6III turns out just to be a Zf skinned in a modern ergonomics, since I have found the Zf performing very well on all fronts as I tried out the demo sets in the showroom, but I just could not see myself putting up with its ergonomics for long days of work with heavy lenses (as well as having a slow-ish microSD slot for backup).
That said, while I am definitely am considering adding a Z6III as my main body, I do not think I would be pre-ordering this time round, as it seems that in Japan there are more incentives to purchase it after the initial wave (like having the Z8 coupled with B1PRO 165GB CFe, or the Z9 coupled with Nikon 660GB CFe, which were not available for early adopters)
Nikon Rumors has done a great job consolidating information from reliable sources regarding the Z6III’s specs, so if anyone is interested I do recommend visiting the post here to have an idea of what to expect for the camera!